Onslow's first charter school opens its doors

Published: Monday, August 19, 2013 at 06:10 PM.

“I love dancing and I love to do drama; I do drama at the house sometimes, so it’s fine to show how to be creative,” she said.

Malachi Lee, 8, said he was looking forward to his technology class.

“I’m going to build a robot when I get to technology that’ll help me with my chores and my homework,” he said.

Malachi, who attended Blue Creek Elementary previously, said he was enjoying his first day at his new school.

“I was thinking while I was awake, I could probably build something somebody’s never built before,” he said.

Howard said that the students at ZECA are held to the same standards as those in Onslow County Schools and follow state and common core standards, though the school simply has a different approach. The teachers use the constructivist theory where learners construct knowledge through active learning.

And students at ZECA will see arts and technology tied into math, science, reading and social studies.

Destinee Farrior and JaiKei Taylor were already competing for class president two hours into their first day of school at Onslow County’s first charter school.

The two 8-year-olds were debating who would best serve in that capacity while creating self-portraits for their time capsule, their first project in Crystal Boros’s third grade class at ZECA School of Arts and Technology.

Destinee attended Blue Creek Elementary School last year, and she said she was class president there.

“Me and him, we’re going to have an election and I’m going to win,” she said.

JaiKei said he wanted to be class president to “help other people and show them how fun it is.”

And fun was what he said he was having while working on his time capsule.

The goal of the project, Boros said, was to show the students how much their skills have grown during the school year. They’ll open it at the end of the year.

JaiKei, who attended Northwoods Elementary, said he expected to see a lot of learning growth, especially in division and multiplication.

“I don’t know how to do a lot of things,” he said.

The charter school that currently serves students in K through 5, opened its doors Monday morning to the 86 students currently enrolled, Founder Stacey Owens-Howard said. The plan is to add an additional grade level each year.

“We’re very excited about finally giving birth to this project … We were excited to see our thoughts on paper come to fruition. The kids came in with a smile so that’s a good thing,” Howard said.

Kaitlyn Bell, 10, a fifth grade student, was among the students cutting out newspaper articles to then summarize. Her article subjects included a military training exercise, crops, cartoons, cafeteria upgrades, sports and one on the nation’s first lady, Michelle Obama.

Kaitlyn, who attended Richlands Elementary last year, said that she was enjoying her first day at ZECA because “it’s really creative and I really like the style of it.”

She’s majoring in dance and minoring in drama, an option that the school’s students have. By choosing a major and minor, she and other students are able to determine what enhancement classes they are scheduled for.

“I love dancing and I love to do drama; I do drama at the house sometimes, so it’s fine to show how to be creative,” she said.

Malachi Lee, 8, said he was looking forward to his technology class.

“I’m going to build a robot when I get to technology that’ll help me with my chores and my homework,” he said.

Malachi, who attended Blue Creek Elementary previously, said he was enjoying his first day at his new school.

“I was thinking while I was awake, I could probably build something somebody’s never built before,” he said.

Howard said that the students at ZECA are held to the same standards as those in Onslow County Schools and follow state and common core standards, though the school simply has a different approach. The teachers use the constructivist theory where learners construct knowledge through active learning.

And students at ZECA will see arts and technology tied into math, science, reading and social studies.

The school has nine hours of instructional time, with school beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. There are 90-minute blocks of math and reading, 60-minute blocks of science and social studies, a 90-minute class period for their major and a 60-minute class period for their minor. The school also serves breakfast and lunch.

As part of the long school days, there is a “no homework policy,” Howard said, allowing the students to focus on family time once they are home for the day. However, the school does encourage parents to read with their student nightly.

“Your day’s so long, we don’t want them to be up all night,” she said.

Students are still able to apply to join ZECA’s student population. Parents are able to pick up applications at the school, currently located at 110C Branchwood Drive, or from the school’s website at zecaschoolofthearts.com. Parents will be notified if their child is accepted and if there aren’t slots open for that particular grade, students will be placed on a waiting list.

For more information, visit zecaschoolofthearts.com or call 910-219-8603.

Amanda Hickey is the government reporter at The Daily News. She can be reached at amanda.hickey@jdnews.com.